Being a lawyer can be funny, too
The practice of law may seem like serious and tedious business, and it can be, says Atty. Ed Chico. There are a lot of procedural matters. “You basically say the same things”—not really as exciting as it’s portrayed on TV shows or as theatrical as what we see in impeachment hearings.
But once in a while, humor does find its way into the courtroom amid the usual routines and questioning. Case in point: One time, he recalls, a Filipino entertainer who worked in Japan took the witness stand and was asked how much they earned. “Sampung lapad po.”
The English interpreter, however, may have taken things a little too literally: “Ten wide.” (A “lapad,” of course, refers to a JPY 10,000 bill.)
“The problem in courtrooms is that proceedings are typically conducted in English, but many witnesses aren’t fluent in the language. So, they speak in Tagalog, and their statements get translated. But sometimes, the interpreters themselves aren’t that good in English,” Chico tells Lifestyle Inquirer.
“So minsan nakakatawa, nakakaaliw din talaga ang pagiging abogado.”
Open mic night
Besides, when you think about it, being a lawyer can be funny in itself, he points out, especially in the context of Filipino families. Ever noticed how some people suddenly get brave when they find out they have a lawyer in the family?
“Biglang tumatapang ang mga kamag-anak mo. ‘Yong tito ko, nakuhanan lang ng malunggay, sabi agad niya, ‘Gusto niyo, padalhan ko kayo ng demand letter?’” says the Ateneo Law School graduate.
Chico has always been quick to find humor in the mundanities of everyday life—growing up poor in Tondo, Manila, will do that to you, he quips. But while he does make it a point to lighten up otherwise stuffy hearings and workdays, he never expected to end up onstage as a stand-up comic.
About eight years ago, he discovered he could also make an audience laugh. “Someone invited me to an open mic night. I didn’t even know much about stand-up comedy. Katuwaan lang. And I think I did well…That’s how it all started,” Chico says, adding that he derives different kinds of satisfaction from his two careers.
“I adore handling pro bono cases, being able to affect change in your own way,” he adds. “But I love making people laugh. Ang sarap pala [sa pakiramdam] kapag may tumatawa.”
All bets are off
Today, Chico is a law firm partner and a professor of civil and commercial law review. But on the side, he holds court at live comedy shows, like his upcoming “Laugh Control: The Atty. Ed Chico Show,” on Dec. 17 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.
Needless to say, his material and brand of observational comedy are inspired by his experiences in the legal profession. No jokes about his actual cases, though. “I joke about being a lawyer in general and our justice system,” he says. “I express my opinions, sentiments, and concerns in a funny way.”
And as a lawyer, wading into political and social commentary isn’t much of a stretch. In fact, poking fun at politicians has become a staple of his sets and online posts. He considers himself an equal-opportunity offender and spares no political color. But depending on which joke goes viral—or which camp amplifies it—he can end up being labeled a supporter or a critic of certain political figures.
That’s the tricky thing about comedy these days, he points out. “We’re so divided. Kapag nag-political joke ka, makakahon ka sa isang kulay… Lokohin mo lang ang pulitiko na sinasamba nila, ibig sabihin ganito ka na,” he says. “But I understand that when you joke about certain things, mayroong mapipikon. That comes with the territory. Some people will take your jokes seriously or at face value.”
But at the end of the day, Chico “couldn’t care less,” as long as he knows that what he’s doing is in the spirit of fun. Still, there are lines he wouldn’t cross. For instance, he wouldn’t make jokes at the expense of “the marginalized—the poor or the disabled.”
But politicians? All bets are off. “You punch up,” he says. “Bakit hindi ko lolokohin ang mga pulitiko, eh niloloko nila tayo?”
Losing our defenses
While he looks up to comics like Dave Chappelle, one of Chico’s biggest influences in comedy—albeit inadvertently—was the late Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago. While studying law at Ateneo, he served as her chief legislative officer.
She “knew how to pull off a punchline,” he says. It was from her that he learned the value of streamlining his thoughts and thinking on his feet. Comes in handy when setting up a joke or dealing with hecklers. “Many on her staff were intimidated by her. But not me, because I made her laugh,” he says.
That’s when he realized comedy had the power not just to make people laugh, but also to disarm them. And he sees this at play during his shows. From the stage, Chico can more or less make out who supports whom based on their reactions to certain jokes—as if there were an invisible barrier between them.
“But kapag napatawa mo sila, they lose your defenses,” he says. “And maybe then we can sit down and discuss.”
